On a fairly modest plot in Mount Pleasant, Studio 5 Architects, have designed and built an ultra-modern four-bedroom house of very generous proportions. One of the bedrooms is a guest suite with a private bathroom and dressing room. There are two children’s bedrooms which share a family bathroom and there’s a very large master bedroom with a lounge area, a dressing room and a spa-like en suite bathroom. In addition, there’s a home office and two separate large lounge areas, a dining area, a big kitchen, a pantry, scullery and utility room. All of this was created from an existing house which has been modified and extended. While the footprint of the old house remains – with extensions – interior walls have been moved around to make the spaces work better.
The main entrance gives a taste of what to expect beyond. Sheltered by a slatted pergola in front, sliding glass doors open to a small foyer with a glass roof that fills the space with light. An existing wall was demolished so the foyer is directly connected to the dining room in an open plan layout. Connecting the entrance foyer and the dining room makes both spaces feel larger. There are two lounges – one on the east side of the house and one on the west side. Both have exposed roof trusses which adds to the volume of the spaces and they have high north facing glass gables above large glass sliding doors. The main lounge opens out to the deck and the pool while the second lounge overlooks the front garden. Studio 5 Architects specified extra-large, white porcelain floor tiles of 1200mm x 600mm which also make the lounges and the dining area feel more spacious and interconnected with a pleasing open flow. To complement and emphasise the spaces the owner decorated the two lounges with tasteful modern furniture in an almost minimalist style with very little clutter.
The kitchen is situated adjacent to the dining area so it’s convenient for serving. The kitchen is one of the new-build structures added on to the existing house. It was fitted out by Romeo Kitchens largely to Studio 5 Architect’s specifications. There’s ample storage along the walls as well as a large granite clad island in the centre that also acts as a breakfast bar.
There’s a coffee station, two ovens and an induction hob as well as a trendy black porcelain sink imported from South Africa. The pantry is on the right hand side while off to the left is the scullery and utility room. The scullery also has a black sink with a special jet rinsing feature and a flexible hose tap making it easy to clean up. A window above the sink provides a view out to the back yard. The utility room has a door to the outside courtyard sheltered by another slatted pergola.
Next to the laundry is a large cupboard space which houses the batteries and inverters for the 10kVA solar system installed by Syphax Engineering. Syphax also did most of the lighting installations throughout the house. Some of the lights, like the ones in the passage, work on movement sensors so they switch on as you walk past and switch off when there’s no activity in the area. They have solar geysers (with backup) so they’re not reliant on ZESA for hot water. There’s also a borehole on the property with two 10 thousand litre water storage tanks, so the home can operate completely off grid.
Leading off from the main lounge is the very spacious guest suite which has a dressing room and an en suite bathroom. Most of the fittings here, and in the other bathrooms, were sourced from Duravit. The fittings and finishes in the house were largely selected in collaboration between the architect and the client. The window looks out across a small courtyard with a view to the pool beyond. Studio 5 Architects have installed a bulkhead ceiling with strip lighting in all bedrooms. The ceilings in the bedroom wing are higher than usual at 3,2m which creates the feeling of more space.
Adjacent to the guest suite are the two children’s bedrooms – identical in size and both with windows out to the east side. The children share a family bathroom which has a tub and a shower.
At the end of the short passageway is the very grand master suite which is a new extension to the original building. The bedroom and lounge area is very spacious – nearly 50 square metres – with windows on the east and north facing sides. Studio 5 Architects designed an amazing array of lighting options which are ultra-modern and elegant and can be used in different combinations for different moods. There’s concealed strip lighting in the bulkhead ceiling, downlighters, LED pendants and a remarkable LED chandelier made up of a series of sparkling interlocking hoops.
There are generous built in wardrobes, supplied by Tusilago to Studio 5 Architect’s specifications. The wardrobes have opaque glass doors so it’s simple to see which section to open, and they have light sensors so the interior of the cupboard is lit up when the door opens. It’s all very modern, sophisticated and sleek.
The master bathroom is spacious and light with a corner window that faces east and south – sheltered by slatted blinds for privacy when needed. There’s a large spa bath with powered jets for a relaxing massage experience after a long day. The ultimate in luxury. There’s also an extra generous walk in shower (with built in bench seating) and double vanities. A great hi-tech feature is the touch activated mirror that lights up at the press of a finger. The bedroom and bathroom have extra-large porcelain floor tiles of 1,2m x 2,4m which emphasise the scale and luxury of the rooms. There’s a home office that can be accessed from the bedroom and it also has sliding glass doors opening out to a small covered verandah.
There are other freestanding structures on the site including a four car garage which has unique mirrored tip up doors. The garage has a glass gable to match the gable front of the house. It includes its own built in toilet and shower. At some stage in the future the owner might start to work from home (hence the home office) and the garage can be used as a workshop, showroom and for storage, so there’s outside covered parking for four vehicles if needed. Adjacent to the garage are double domestic quarters which were in fairly good condition so little was done except to change the roof to match the main house and make the structure feel more integrated.
At the front of the house there was an existing swimming pool in an old fashioned curvy, organic shape which didn’t match the new modern exterior of the home. Studio 5 Architects have designed a new pool in a sharper, more modern L-shape that’s linked directly to the main lounge by a composite timber deck. The architects also designed the luxurious pool side gazebo and entertainment area. It has exposed trusses like the lounges in the main house, a fireplace for cosy winter nights, and sliding doors on the east and west sides so that the space can be completely opened up on hot summer days – or nights.
Because the site is fairly small, and the footprint of the house and the free standing buildings is quite large, there’s not a lot of garden space left. What space there is has been well thought out and landscaped with minimal lawn for easy maintenance. There are some palms and giant strelizias which will add a tropical feel when they’re more established, a water feature near the entrance and beds with brightly coloured annuals for splashes of colour.
The exteriors of all the structures have a coherent look linked by the Chromadek roofs and the use of beige and grey painted plaster and feature sections of dark stone cladding. Extensive windows and sliding doors in black aluminium frames and the repeated use of glass gables create a connection between the different structures.
-Text by Michael Nott
From: S&D ISSUE 59
